Like Friday's game against Atlanta, this was another tale of two halves in which the opposing team simply pulled away in the third quarter. Memphis scored the first seven points of the game, but Miami (12-11) quickly responded. Thanks to nine first-quarter points by Michael Beasley, who has back after battling the flu, the Heat pulled to within 22-25 by the end of the first quarter. Things stayed tight in the second quarter. Beasley continued his assault, with 15 points by intermission. Wade finished off the first half by taking rookie O.J. Mayo at the top of the circle, managing to break his ankles before sinking the wide open jump-shot to tie the game at 46 all.
But then the third quarter came. And just like against the Hawks, the Heat let the Grizzlies pull away. Memphis extended its lead to 10 by the eight-and-a-half mark of the third quarter. Wade's layup with 4:45 left to go made it a 64-69 game, but the Heat got no closer than that. By the end of the third quarter, Miami had all but thrown in the towel as the score was 81-66.
As crazy as this may sound, Mayo actually out-played Wade. Wade, who started off the game well, was again off with his jumpers this afternoon. The superstar guard out of Marquette seldom drove to the rim in the second half, something that has happened for the second consecutive game. Is this a sign of fatigue? Coming in just over 20 games into the season, it would not be a good sign. Coach Erik Spoelstra has tried to limit Wade's minutes to 36 or so a game. Spoelstra surely hopes this is just a small setback for his franchise player.
Mayo finished with 28 points, five rebounds, four assists and zero turnovers. What is more impressive is that Mayo shot a perfect four-for-four from downtown and eight-for-eight from the free-throw line. There was talk of Miami possibly selecting him in the days leading up to the Draft. Should Pat Riley have shocked the media and taken Mayo? I will have a post on that in the future.
The star of the first half for Miami, Beasley, cooled down in the second half. Beasley only managed to score five points in the last 24 minutes of basketball. For a 19-year-old, I am not going to get tough on the rookie. Who I am going to get tough on is Shawn Marion. The four-time NBA All-Star shot just 3-for-12 from the field, missing several shots in the paint. I do not think I would ever say this, but Marion is starting to remind me of Antoine Walker.
The 13 rebounds for Marion were good, especially with Udonis Haslem out to attend his grandmother's funeral. And Miami did win the battle of the boards, 47-38. But Marion has got to step it up offensively. Maybe he is not accustomed to a half-court setting, but he has got to get his act together. He is supposed to be a lethal force for opposing team. I doubt Marion is even one of the first three names opposing team's read when they pick up the scouting report.
To look at the good side of this game, Joel Anthony had a great game. The undrafted Canadian sophomore had his first double-double of his career. Anthony managed to score 12 points on a perfect five-for-five shooting, grab 13 boards and block five shots in 35 minutes. Anthony was easily Miami's most active player, and he is starting to remind me of a Haslem-type player who can block shots.
Again, in the third quarter, Memphis got everything it wanted and the Heat could not even buy a bucket. Wade shot 5-for-16 and his frustration led to the technical foul in the fourth quarter. Yakhouba Diawara, starting for the fourth time this season, shot two-for-six. Mario Chalmers shot three-for-eight. Chris Quinn shot 3-for-10 and Daequan Cook shot 3-for-12. It may have seemed like the Heat were within a half-game of attaining the fourth seed in the East, behind only Boston, Cleveland and Orlando just a few days ago. But this team still has a long way to go, and Spoelstra has his work cut out for him.
The thing is, the Atlanta loss was excusable. The Hawks pushed the Celtics to seven games in the 2008 playoffs and beat the Cavaliers just after defeating Miami. But the Grizzlies was, and still is, under the .500 mark. Memphis may have been on a three-game winning streak, but this is still a team that is very much in the developing stages. There is no excuse for allowing five Grizzlies to score in double figures.
The most pressing issue now for Miami is how the Heat can find its offense when Wade is not scoring 30 points for the Heat.
"We have to go back to the drawing board," Wade said.
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